Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Civil action, alleged Alcoholic sales to a minor

Hello.

First, the mere "forgiveness" of the clerk (not being prosecuted) is IRRELEVANT and wholly unimportant as it relates to a prosecution of the merchant facility. The facility/owner is licensed by the Alcohol Beverage control (ABC) State agency. Second, the prosecution is by a County prosecutorial agency and or Third, the ABC can seek to revoke or censure the license issued to the merchant vendor.

If the merchant is charged criminally (supplying to a minor) then a criminal defense attorney should be hired. If the merchant is undergoing a "revocation" or censure proceeding by the ABC as "prosecuted" by the Attorney General's office, the hearing will be a civil hearing conducted before an Administrative Law Judge in State courts designed for that purpose. An attorney knowledgable of these "administrative proceedings" should be hired.

Some attorneys have experience in both types of cases, but it sounds like there is only one ongoing, the Administraitve Law censure case.

Administrative Law cases can be settled or they can "go all the way" to trial like any other case. Like any trial, the entire process can be time consuming and expensive, but bear in mind, the ability to vend alcohol is at stake and depending on how large a part of the business that aspect is, it is usually worth the expense to hire an experienced attorney.

Regards,

mark Geyer

Re: Civil action, alleged Alcoholic sales to a minor

The D.A. and the ABC department are independent of one another and each decides which cases to bring without regard for what the other might decide.

The D.A.'s decision to drop the charges does not mean the clerk was innocent. It may simply mean that the D.A. was too busy and had to let some smaller cases go, or that he did not think the evidence against the clerk was strong enough to persuade a jusy of his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. There are many other reasons why the D.A. may have decided to drop the case.

Even if the D.A. believes that the clerk is innocent, the ABC does not have to agree and is free to proceed as it sees fit.